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The honorable Foreign Minister of Palestine Dr. Riad N A Maliki, along with his delegation, have recently visited to Dhaka, Bangladesh for the first time to attend the Ninth GFMD summit, 2016. He took part in the inauguration ceremony of the Ninth GFMD Summit, 2016 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Dhaka on 10 December, 2016. The Director General of Palestinian International Cooperation Agency, Mr. Imad M M Zuahiri, The Head of South Asia Division of Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Ms. Rima Yousef Tayem and the Head of Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in Dhaka Mr. Yousef S Y Ramadan were along with him as delegation members.

During his visit, the Palestinian delegation has had two separate bilateral meetings on the event venue in the afternoon time.

The first one was with the Indian foreign delegation where they have discussed about the developing the relationship with India. Also political consultation was discussed and both sides agreed that it would further streamline the consultation mechanism.
Later, the Palestinian delegation met with the honorable foreign minister of Bangladesh Mr. A.H. Mahmood Ali. Both the ministers discussed how to further develop the bilateral cooperation between Palestine and Bangladesh. Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali assured the delegation of Palestine to provide every possible best support for the brotherly nation. Both sides agreed to translate the excellent cooperation and understanding at various levels including the business and people in general.

Meeting of two Countries Foreign Ministers- Palestine & Bangladesh

On 11 December, 2016, in the morning, the Palestinian delegation team met with Mr. Nasrul Hamid, the honorable state minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh at his place in Dhaka. Over there, the discussion on development in energy sector of Bangladesh and Palestinian contribution had been discussed between the parties. After the meeting, the Palestinian delegation team went to meet with Mr. Tofael Ahmed, honorable Minister of Commerce in Bangladesh at his office. Both the parties discussed about the foreign trade and investments prospects and aspects in Bangladesh. Also, they have discussed about the foreign investment in Bangladesh particularly in Energy sector and others.

Meeting with the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Tofael Ahmed

Later in the afternoon, the Palestinian delegation went to Gonobhaban to meet the honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Over there, the Palestinian foreign minister presented some copies the Book “The Unfinished Memories” by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman translated into Arabic. Dr Malki said they have published the books in Arabic and are distributing books to other Arab countries. “We have also requested other Arab nations to publish the book.”If necessary we could supply the books,” he said. The premier later handed over a book with autograph to the Palestinian foreign minister for their President Mahmud Abbas. She also presented a book with autograph to Dr Malki.

The Palestinian foreign minister paid rich tributes to Bangabandhu and said the people of his country hold the great leader in high esteem. “What Bangabandhu done for the people is unique,” he said. He also recalled Bangabandhu’s special friendship with Palestinian legendary leader Yasir Arafat. “It was special friendship and now it’s our responsibility to take care and protect this relationship,” he said.

The Palestinian foreign minister put emphasis on cooperation between the two countries on agriculture sector. He also highly appreciated the training being provided to the Palestinian armed forces personnel in Bangladesh. “It’s very good and standard training,” he remarked.
Dr Malki highly lauded Bangladesh’s strong support to Palestine, saying that: “You (Sheikh Hasina) are always vocal against Israeli atrocities in our country.”We are happy that Bangladesh always extends strong support to us,” he added.
In this connection, the prime minister said she will always raise voice when the Palestinian women and children were killed by the Israeli occupation forces.
PM’s Military Secretary Major General Mia Mohammad Jainul Abedin and PMO Secretary Suraiya Begum were present on the occasion.

Later on that night, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and State of Palestine signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on strengthening the bilateral relationship to enhance the economic, mutual and commercial cooperation in the areas of trade & investment and power generation between the two brotherly countries. Honorable Foreign Minister of Palestine H.E. Dr. Riad N A Malki and Honorable State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Nasrul Hamid, led their respective sides by signing on behalf of their Government.

MOU signing with the State minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh, Mr. Nasrul Hamid

Former president Jimmy Carter has called on Barack Obama to recognise Palestine as an independent state before he leaves office. Mr Carter, who has been outspoken about Palestinian rights and has urged a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, said Palestine should achieve full United Nations membership.

In a published article at The New York Times, the former US president wrote: “I am convinced that the United States can still shape the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before a change in presidents, but time is very short.” He added: “The simple but vital step this administration must take before its term expires on Jan. 20 is to grant American diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine.” Mr Carter also said the UN Security council should pass a resolution “laying out the parameters for resolving the conflict. Reaffirm the illegality of all Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 borders,” with further measures including the demilitarization of the Palestinian state and a possible UN peacekeeping force.

He also criticised the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land by saying, “Israel is building more and more settlements, displacing Palestinians and entrenching its occupation of Palestinian lands,” he wrote. “Over 4.5 million Palestinians live in these occupied territories, but are not citizens of Israel. Most live largely under Israeli military rule, and do not vote in Israel’s national elections.”

Barack Obama has been critical of Israel, telling the nation it cannot permanently occupy and settle on Palestinian land.

In a speech to the United Nations, the US president said both sides would benefit if Israel recognised it cannot permanently occupy the land and if Palestinians rejected incitement and recognised Israel’s legitimacy.

Israeli forces carry out raid and arrest campaigns throughout occupied West Bank and Jerusalem almost on daily basis. On 05 December, 2016, Monday, Israeli Occupation Forces arrested 13 Palestinians overnight from cities all over the West Bank,in a wide raid and arrest campaign. Raids included areas in Jenin, Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilia, Jordan Valley, and Jerusalem, where four Jerusalem citizens, including two ex-prisoners and a minor have been arrested. Several homes were raided and a youth was brutally attacked and beaten at the hands of Israeli forces in Hebron.

Meanwhile, 4 days ago, Israeli forces also claimed responsibility for the confiscation of a Palestinian land in Silwad village, to the east of Ramallah, after they declared it abandoned property. The seized land tract covers an area of 16.5 donums.

The confiscation was carried out on claims that the land has been abandoned, a pretext often used by the occupation army to grab hold of Palestinian lands in favor of illegal settlement expansion.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the opening ceremony of the 7th Fatah Congress on November 29, 2016, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

After a two-year delay, Fatah movement’s seventh congress kicked off in Ramallah on 29 November, 2016, where the movement has re-elected President Mahmoud Abbas to a new five-year term. Abbas said that 60 delegations from 28 countries will be joining the conference . Party official Salim Zanoun asked the gathering Monday to elect Abbas “by consensus.” The hundreds of delegates stood up and applauded Abbas, who then hugged Zanoun, AP reported.

The five-day conference is expected to cement Abbas’ control of Fatah and lock out his chief rival, the exiled Mohamed Dahlan.

Meanwhile, The United Nations Special Coordinator- Nickolay Mladenov on 29 November, 2016 has given a speech on behalf of the UN Secretary-General on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Mladenov said it his honour to address the 7th Congress of Fatah – which is the soul of the Palestinian people, just as the Palestinian people are the soul of the Arab nation.

On the other hand, Israeli Energy minister Yuval Steinitz said Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas represents the top ideological threat to the Jewish state after Abbas vowed to withdraw recognition of Israel if it keeps refusing to reciprocate. Speaking at a Fatah party congress on Wednesday, Abbas noted that although Palestine recognized Israel, Israel is not poised to do the same, adding that Palestine’s commitment “is not free” and eventually comes down to Israel’s decision to recognize Palestine in return. If the latter is not happening, Palestine will mull withdrawing its recognition after all other options are exhausted, Abbas said. However, he stressed that “at the moment, we must lead a peaceful popular resistance and we want to keep our hand extended for peace.”

Abbas’ comments did not sit well with Steiniz, a long-time ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a member of his right-wing Likud party, who dubbed them “another sad joke” in an interview with Israel Radio. During his congress address that spanned for three hours, Abbas also reminded that Israel was not in effect recognized as Jewish nation-state by the UN. However, in September last year Abbas hinted that Palestine might walk out from the Accords while blaming Israel of occupying its territory.

Contrary to Steinitz’s claims of Abbas rejecting Israel’s right to exist, the Palestinian leader has been known as a staunch supporter of the two-state solution and repeatedly called on reviving stalled peace talks with third party assistance. In November, Palestinian officials welcomed the initiative by France to serve as a mediator and staged a conference in Paris.

Arafat, Abbas’s predecessor as the Palestine leader was a living symbol of armed resistance to Israel occupation before he died in 2004. Being the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in 1990 he agreed to enter into peace negotiations with Israel that resulted in signing of the Accords for which he was awarded a peace Nobel prize in 1994.

Up to 1,400 invited members are expected to design the movement’s strategy for the next five years. The congress will also elect Fatah’s 23-member Central Committee, presided by Abbas, and its 132-member Revolutionary Council. Abbas is said to be under pressure from Arab states to name a successor. Fatah officials, however, insist that the congress “is not about succession”. Husam Zomlot, Abbas’ strategic adviser and newly appointed ambassador to the United States siad, “The congress will discuss and review the tools that have been used to achieve two goals: establishing a free and sovereign state and the right of return which remain our national goals, A major review should be about bilateralism and successive Israeli governments’ insistence to use negotiations as a tool to expand and reinforce the occupation and colonisation.”

In this respect, some analysts have expressed concern about the timing of the congress, with political tensions running high; while others have pointed to the need to forward-plan towards Abbas’ succession to avoid a power vacuum that could lead to serious destabilisation and the imposition of outside agendas. The 81-year-old Palestinian president was recently hospitalised with heart problems, and his term in office officially expired in 2009. PA raids into Palestinian refugee camps, including Jenin and Al Amari, have intensified in the lead-up to the congress, as they did around the now-postponed municipal elections, originally planned for October 8.

On October 22, PA security forces broke up a meeting organised by a group of Fatah leaders in Al Amari refugee camp near Ramallah, which resulted in a number of arrests and ousters from the movement

Hamas, meanwhile, has allowed Dahlan to get a foothold in Gaza, and in return Egypt has loosened some of the restrictions on access and movement it imposed on the Strip. Alaa Tartir, programme director at Al-Shabaka, highlighed six main issues he thinks the Fatah leadership should consider during the congress if the political will existed.

Formerly led by Yasser Arafat, Fatah remains the dominant party in both the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation), which led the Palestinians to the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and 1995, and the PA (Palestinian Authority). The latter was created as a provisional government as part of the Oslo process, which envisaged a five-year interim period to pave the way to final status negotiations.

On Monday 28 November, 2016, the Palestinians welcomed a French plan to hold an international conference on the two-state solution in Paris at the end of December. The PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said “We have encouraged France to go ahead with its initiative and supported its efforts to have a multilateral conference before the end of the year,” after meeting with French envoy Pierre Vimont in Ramallah.

In Ramallah he received a warm welcome from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Erekat. They urged Vimont not to let Israel “sabotage” the international conference. Erekat said “Israel is a state that does not only refuse to attend international conferences, but refuses to recognize Palestine, to implement signed agreements, UN resolutions or simply to abide by its obligations under international law. Israel wants only to maintain the status quo and to continue with its settlement policies and land grabs.” He noted that next year marks “50 years of the Israeli occupation.”

In Jerusalem Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Abbas to immediately hold direct negotiations with him. “The quest for peace is difficult but we remain committed to it,” Netanyahu said. “And you know, Mr. Prime Minister, every time there is a foreign leader here I always say: Look, I’ll be happy to begin peace negotiations without any conditions of course but direct negotiations with President Abbas,” Netanyahu said.

Abbas has persistently rejected such calls, stating that Israel must halt all settlement activity and Jewish building in east Jerusalem before such talks could be held.

Meanwhile, a group of Israeli settlers on Sunday afternoon have taken over an agricultural Palestinian-owned agricultural land in the northern Jordan Valley. A local resident told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that the villagers were able recently to obtain an Israeli court verdict that gave them back part of their lands that had been seized by settlers in a previous incident. He affirmed that this court verdict, however, was never respected by Jewish settlers living near their hamlet.

He added that a group of settlers seized once again on Sunday their agricultural land and embarked on cultivating it for their own use.

Today 29 November, the world is observing the International Solidarity Day with the Palestinian People. The day is a United Nations-organized observance. Events are held at UN headquarters in New York and UN offices in Geneva and Vienna, with other observances under government and civic sponsorship around the world. It is generally held on November 29 each year to mark the anniversary of Resolution 181, passed by the UN General Assembly in 1947 to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Palestine was at that time still under the British Mandate. The following year Israel fought its war, and more than 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their own homes and lands.

In 1977, the General Assembly of the United Nations called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B), with confidence that today, the Palestinians are the victims of brutality and persecution because of the adaptation of Resolution 181 in UN General Assembly 1947, where it has been decided on the partition of the state of Palestine to make one Jewish State and Another Palestinian (Arab) State. Through this resolution, the Jews who were minority at that time were given more than 70% of the Palestinian land to establish themselves. As a result, most of the Palestinians became refugees & being evicted from their homeland as stateless. They took shelter in the neighboring countries refugee camps and they are living their life in misery as refugees even today. In 1947, on this date, Justice have been drowned which remains the same as today. In this situation, the Palestinians, with their full strength, started the induction of their revolution under the compact Leadership of the late president Yasser Arafat. Many people had sacrificed their own lives for the sake of this revolution, gave up their everything for the freedom and independence of the Palestinian state. Still today, the Palestinians are letting their valuable lives.

In marking the 69th anniversary of the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (the Partition Plan) and the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, PLO Executive Committee Member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said: “This anniversary marks an occasion in which the international community decided to intervene negatively, and thus began the tragedy of Palestine. No matter how many days of solidarity we have, the fact of this grave injustice remains, particularly since there has never been any concrete engagement to challenge Israel’s impunity or to put an end to its continued expansionism and its flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law.”

The International Solidarity Day of Palestine has been observed all around the world today. Even in Bangladesh, there are different organisations who have arranged different programs at different times of the day. No matter what, Bangladesh shall always support and stand beside the brotherly nation Palestine is been clearly mentioned on the speakers speech. Also the end of Illegal Israeli occupation and make Palestine an independent nation with its capital Jerusalem was the crucial demand for Bangladeshi people. The Head of Palestinian Diplomatic Mission of Bangladesh, H.E. Mr. Yousef S.Y. Ramadan has expressed his gratitude for the people and the Government of Bangladesh and said that “Palestinian people shall never give up their legitimate right of self determination as well as return to their homeland and establish their own independent state with its capital, the Holy city of Jerusalem. With the support of our brothers of Bangladesh and rest of the world, we shall continue our revolution till the end.”

Also the Honorable Prime minister of Bangladesh has reiterated the support in favour of establishing the State of Palestine ending the illegal Israeli occupation. She said in her message, ” Bangladesh joins the international community in reaffirming its commitment to the inalienable right of the people of Palestine to self-determination and support to their five-decade long struggle for peace, stability and justice. Having experienced aggression and crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971, Bangladesh condemns the heinous attacks on the people of Palestine, and denounces the illegal settlements, including the expansion plans, and any other action by the occupying force, that obstructs negotiations towards a viable two-State solution.”

The international community strongly supports the resumption and continuation of the negotiating process with Israel and other powers, and an end to unilateral actions that may predetermine the outcome of the negotiations. Given the extensive settlement by Jews in the Occupied Territories, encouraged by successive Israeli governments since 1967, and given the ever more rightward trend of the current Netanyahu regime, rapid progress toward Palestinian self-determination and toward a tangible improvement in the Palestinian economy and living conditions, still seems far off.

A high-level French diplomat has denied any news regarding France halting the French peace summit that is set to take place in December, saying it will go on whether “with or without Israel.” The statement, released by the French embassy in Tel Aviv, comes after the Israeli newspaper, Ynet, published news claiming that France will stop efforts to hold the peace summit. The French consul in Jerusalem, Pierre Cochard said “as [French president] mentioned in his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 September, the French objective is to convene an international conference to help revive the peace process in the Middle East. We work closely with our partners and with the parties to this end. After working visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the special envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pierre Vimont, has just visited the United States. It will continue this work on future trips to the main partner countries,” Cochard added.

Meanwhile, Israel said it will not participate in the summit since it goes against its official stance, and “enables Palestinians to avoid direct negotiations without preconditions. In addition, a statement from Netanyahu’s office called on France not to promote such an initiative. The conference amis to revive the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and end the Israeli occupation. It has had a strong support from the Palestinian officials, and strong opposition from the Israeli side.

Here, PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi met with Irish Representative Jonathan Conlon at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah and welcomed him to Palestine. Both parties reviewed Palestinian-Irish relations at length, and Dr. Ashrawi expressed her appreciation to Ireland for its continued backing of Palestine at the United Nations and its ongoing support of Palestinian self-determination and human rights. She urged the Irish government to recognize Palestine in the immediate future. Dr. Ashrawi and Mr. Conlon also discussed matters related to the latest global and European developments and the role of Ireland in the EU.

Dr. Ashrawi provided an assessment of the alarming and worsening conditions on the ground and Israel’s persistent violations of international law and conventions.

Despite Turkey’s reconciliation agreement with Israel in June 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck anything but a conciliatory tone stating that Israel has killed millions of Palestinians in Gaza and Palestine. Although Israel and Turkey had made progress in normalizing ties, Erdogan refused to take back his past verbal attacks against Israel, including a statement that Israel’s attacks against terrorist targets in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge were more barbaric than Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s actions.

In a statement, The Turkish President had said- “There were times that Gaza was bombarded. I cannot forget those moments when thousands of people were killed in these bombings. I do not agree with what Hitler did and I also do not agree with what Israel has done in Gaza. So there is no point in comparing who was more barbaric…you killed thousands of people in Gaza and Palestine,”

Erdogan also defended Hamas’s indiscriminate firing of rockets on civilian targets in Israel, and said he does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. He said, “Hamas is not a terrorist organization. Hamas is a political movement born out of (national) resurrection. Until now you have been sitting with Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah, did you get any results? No you didn’t.My desire is this: We must achieve peace in this region. If there is no peace in the region, it will be unfortunate.”

Erdogan also accused Israel of trying to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He said, “Israel is making an effort to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that is unacceptable. First of all we must be vigilant that (Israel) will not be able to take over the place through archaeological excavations. Jerusalem is holy to three religions, and we all must respect that. (But) we are now experiencing a process of normalization of relations. I do not want to discuss these issues.”

Naftali Bennett , a senior Israeli Cabinet minister said the election of Donald Trump has helped create an opportunity for Israel to completely finish the establishment of a Palestinian state. The remarks by Naftali Bennett reflect sentiment in the nationalist Israeli right wing that Trump’s election could usher in a new era of relations with the United States. While the two countries are close allies, relations were sometimes tense between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of their vastly different world views.

Bennett last week welcomed Trump’s election, predicting that “the special relationship” with the U.S. would grow stronger and noting that the Republican campaign platform had no mention of a Palestinian state. “The era of a Palestinian state is over,” he declared at the time. he also said “The combination of the changes in the United States, in Europe and the region provide Israel with a unique opportunity to reset and rethink everything.” he added. “I believe that we have to bring alternative new ideas instead of the Palestinian state approach.” “My expectation is not from anyone abroad,” he said. “After many years, the Israeli government has to decide what do we want.

Bennett leads the Jewish Home party, a coalition partner that is affiliated with the West Bank settler movement. He is one of the most influential voices in Israeli politics, and both his party and most members of Netanyahu’s Likud oppose Palestinian statehood on either religious or security grounds. Israeli hard-liners welcomed Trump’s election last week, noting the strong support for Israel in his campaign platform and the many pro-Israel officials who advised him during his campaign.

Bennett’s comments were also an indicator of the pressure Netanyahu could soon face to abandon his commitment to the “two-state solution” favored by Obama and the international community. For two decades, the international community has been pushing for a negotiated peace deal that would include the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

In an interview with “Israel Today,” a free daily owned by Republican super-donor Sheldon Adelson, Trump said he believed his administration can play “a significant role” in helping the Mideast parties reach an agreement. on the other hand, Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that he would soon be meeting Trump. He ordered his Cabinet and lawmakers to avoid speaking to the media about the election while the incoming U.S. administration formulates its policies